I don’t like people who tell you how clever their dogs are. Dogs aren’t all that clever really, although it seems to me that they are manipulative. That’s not to say that they can’t think, or remember (somebody tried to tell me yesterday that they couldn’t, but what she meant was that they don’t/can’t reminisce, which is a different thing altogether). What is not so certain is whether they can anticipate and plan for the future...
One thing that dogs like is routine. Do the same thing at the same time two days running, and it becomes an unalterable habit and will cause the poor animal all sorts of unhappiness if it doesn’t happen on the third. In consequence, I am very careful not to do the same thing twice running, thus giving myself an edge and the opportunity to make my own mind up now and than when and where and what we shall do. Apart from bedtime – the bedtime routine is fairly similar, but not at the same time every day (edge, see!). I tidy the kitchen, then I take the dog out for his last walk, come back and put the babygate across the stairs so he can’t eat the post in the morning, then he usually has a late night snack and goes off to sleep, leaving me to go straight to sleep or stay up all night if I wish...
Last night we did all the above, then I went back in the living room while he went for a drink and a biscuit or two. Instead of going off to sleep he came back in and went into his ‘I need something’ routine – paw on knee, eyes boring into mine, etc. He only does this when a) he wants to go out, b) he wants to eat something (usually people food he thinks he has identified as abandoned, but daren’t touch without permission) or c) I am talking to someone else and he wishes to remind me that he is the most important being in my life. Well a) and c) were quickly ruled out as we had just been out and I wasn’t talking (Ron was watching TV). So – b)? When I stood up he led me straight into the kitchen and looked pointedly at his water bowl, which he had just emptied. I filled it. He watched me, then turned away and went off to sleep. He didn’t have a drink, obviously didn’t need to. So he must have been anticipating future thirst and preparing for it. Or am I just falling into the ‘What a clever dog I’ve got’ trap?
One thing that dogs like is routine. Do the same thing at the same time two days running, and it becomes an unalterable habit and will cause the poor animal all sorts of unhappiness if it doesn’t happen on the third. In consequence, I am very careful not to do the same thing twice running, thus giving myself an edge and the opportunity to make my own mind up now and than when and where and what we shall do. Apart from bedtime – the bedtime routine is fairly similar, but not at the same time every day (edge, see!). I tidy the kitchen, then I take the dog out for his last walk, come back and put the babygate across the stairs so he can’t eat the post in the morning, then he usually has a late night snack and goes off to sleep, leaving me to go straight to sleep or stay up all night if I wish...
Last night we did all the above, then I went back in the living room while he went for a drink and a biscuit or two. Instead of going off to sleep he came back in and went into his ‘I need something’ routine – paw on knee, eyes boring into mine, etc. He only does this when a) he wants to go out, b) he wants to eat something (usually people food he thinks he has identified as abandoned, but daren’t touch without permission) or c) I am talking to someone else and he wishes to remind me that he is the most important being in my life. Well a) and c) were quickly ruled out as we had just been out and I wasn’t talking (Ron was watching TV). So – b)? When I stood up he led me straight into the kitchen and looked pointedly at his water bowl, which he had just emptied. I filled it. He watched me, then turned away and went off to sleep. He didn’t have a drink, obviously didn’t need to. So he must have been anticipating future thirst and preparing for it. Or am I just falling into the ‘What a clever dog I’ve got’ trap?
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